Conor McGregor Sells Majority Stake Of Whiskey Brand In Deal Reportedly Worth US$600M

[mkdf_dropcaps type=”normal” color=”#f55549″ background_color=””]C[/mkdf_dropcaps]
onor McGregor has added to his fortune after he and his business partners sold the majority stake of Whiskey company Proper No. Twelve for a reported US$600 million (AUD$771 million).

McGregor founded the company in 2018 and has been the face of the brand, using his UFC fame to promote the product.

The company was purchased by Proximo Spirits, with Proximo CEO, Mike Keyes, telling Shanken News Daily McGregor and his partners will still play active roles in the future of the brand.

“Since introducing this brand with Conor and his partners just two and a half years ago, Proper No. Twelve has been the most exciting brand in the Irish Whiskey category,” Keyes said.

“We are very excited about Conor’s upcoming July 10 fight in Las Vegas, and obviously we are planning a big splash around that event,” he said.

But McGregor isn’t the first to use his sporting celebrity to promote certain products.

Forbes reports that when the first Air Jordan shoes were released in stores, $100 million worth of sales were made in the first 12 months.

Since signing the deal with Michael Jordan in 1984, Forbes estimates Nike has paid Jordan an estimated $1.3 billion US as of 2020 and helped make both the Jordan brand and Nike some of the world’s most recognisable consumer brands.

More recently, footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo, has used his mass social media following to advertise his personal brand, CR7.

According to Business Insider, in 2019, around 40% of Ronaldo’s income came from endorsement deals with companies like Nike and Tag Heuer.

McGregor currently sits 14 spots below Ronaldo at number 16 on Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes List which is yet to be updated for 2021.